About Me

I have spent the first half of my career
as a pastor of the church, and the second half as a teacher in the university and the church. I experience much satisfaction working in both worlds. As I engage in ongoing research to support my third activity which is writing, I am constantly finding many interesting items on the net and from friends which I edit and share on my Colleagues List. That way, you too might enjoy information from the worlds of religion and culture. As of September 2016, this profile has received almost 1,800 hits.
Thanks for your interest!
.

"World's 50 Most Unusual Churches" - an
interesting collage of architectural beauty
are found in these pictures (Huffington
Post Canada) http://tinyurl.com/lbypv3s

"Tibetans Yearn for Return to Homeland" -
now, after a century of waiting for change
in the land of their ancestors, young
Tibetans in India are growing restless
(The International)http://tinyurl.com/k87twae

"Remembering Robert Bellah (1927-2003)" -
one of America's leading sociologists of
religion during the past century died recently
(Sightings) http://tinyurl.com/k3lo9ya

"WCC Assembly to Meet in South Korea" -
it is an amazing thing that a nation with
few Christians a century ago can this year
welcome the Tenth Assembly of the WCC
(Anglican Journal) http://tinyurl.com/md4wc8t

"Martin Luther King - A Christian Prophet" -
as we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary
of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech
this reflection on King is a helpful one
(America Magazine)http://tinyurl.com/krw6zc5

"Old Order Mennonites Love Their Children" -
some question their "spare the rod and spoil
the child" philosophy, but love is the key
to any good punishment, they tell us
(Christian Week)http://tinyurl.com/lgklfgr

"Survey Finds Pastors at High Depression Risk"
- a not surprising survey reminds us of the
perils of working in ministry (Christian Post)http://tinyurl.com/mnreh6b

"Evangelicals Urged to Repent Over Gay Views"
- leaders of the evangelical community within the
Church of England are reprimanding their own
(The Telegraph) http://tinyurl.com/oyhoqeu

"Much Healing Still Needed Over Native Schools"
- it is twenty years since the Anglican primate
of Canada apologized to the First Nations
but much work must still be done
(Christian Week)http://tinyurl.com/mj9frbh

This collection of study resources represents
more than a decade of Monday Night Studies at
St. David's, plus extra courses too!

You are welcome to use our course outlines,
class notes and resource pages in your personal
and group reflections.

*****

SPECIAL ITEM

Personal Reflection -

A NEW SEASON OF LEARNING AND GROWTH

The beginning of September is always a busy time
here in Canada for those of us in teaching work.
All across the country people of all ages are
entering schools and beginning courses.

But what about those of us who are of retirement
age? (in my case 71 years.) Is this not a good
opportunity to relax a bit and do more of the things
one has always wanted to do?

--

I have always enjoyed teaching. Even as a young
person I was involved in Sunday School activity
at my home church. As I get more involved in
higher education I became engaged with TA
(Teaching Associate) work. When opportunities
presented themselves, I began lecturing at the
university as well.

It was a major change for me to shift my role
in the church from "pastor" (for 20 years) to
"teacher" (now 25 years) but it has been one
of the most rewarding transitions in my life.

Combined with my writing (reviewing, article
creation, blogging) I have discovered that it
was possible to reach much wider audiences
than were available to me in the church itself.

So why do I still get pumped up each year at
this time? Because I am getting ready to
teach for three hours each week at St. David's
United, Calgary and three hours each week
at the University of Calgary.

Teaching keeps me young. I like working with
students of all ages, but this activity keeps
my mind engaged with new frontiers.

Teaching keeps me challenged. I like to
discuss ideas with people, and often it is
when I am challenged that I learn the most.

Teaching keeps my brain stimulated. Many
studies suggest that mental activity can
help to ward off the dangers of dementia
and other senior-scourges.

Teaching keeps me active in my vocation.
Life does not always end up the way we
originally planned. But I have been able
to continue for almost half a century in
a ministry vocation. It did not follow the
course I might have first envisioned. But
it has been true to many of my foundational
commitments - sharing my faith and
helping people.

--

Last year at this time I was not in good
health. Post-cancer surgery had caused
me to experience a colon infection that
in many ways was worse than the cancer
itself. After corrective interventions were
conducted by my surgeon, I vowed to
follow a strict diet, exercise and work
regimen that got me back into a fairly
normal routine at the beginning of
this year. Marlene and I took a wonderful
trip to Turkey in April and May. We have
engaged in many enriching social,
recreational and cultural activities during
the past nine months.

--

Health challenges can actually be of
great value when they are viewed as
helping the patient take an important
assessment of life and come to a
renewed appreciation for it.

Every day is a gift.
Every day has value.
Every day offers a chance to serve.

That's why I am so grateful to be
where I am at the beginning of
this September, compared to
where I was a year ago.

First keep the peace within yourself,
then you can also bring peace to others.

- Thomas A. Kempis

--

It is a bigger miracle to be patient and refrain
from anger than it is to control the demons
which fly through the air.

- John Cassian

--

Take heed, then, to come together often to give
thanks to God, and show God's praise. For when
you come frequently together in the same place,
the power of Satan are destroyed and his fiery
darts of sin fall back, worthless. For your unity
and harmonious faith prove his destruction, and
the torment of his assistants. Nothing is better
than Christ's peace, by which all war, both of
heavenly and earthly spirits, is brought to an end.

- Ignatius of Antioch

--

Too often the price exacted by society for security
and respectability is that the Christian movement
in its formal expression must be on the side of the
strong against the weak. This is a matter of tremendous
significance, for it reveals to what extent a religion that
was born of a people acquainted with persecution and
suffering has become the cornerstone of a civilization
and of nations whose very position in modern life too
often has been secured by a ruthless use of power
applied to defenseless peoples.

- Howard Thurman

--

'Truth crushed to earth will rise again.' How long?
Not long! Because 'no lie can live forever.' …How long?
Not long! 'Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on
the throne. Yet that scaffold sways the future and behind
the dim unknown standeth God within the shadow,
keeping watch over his own.' How long? Not long!
Because the arc of the moral universe is long,
but it bends toward justice.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

--

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite
naturally impatient in everything to reach the end
without delay. We would like to skip the intermediate
stages. We are impatient of being on the way to
something unknown, something new. And yet, it is
the law of all progress that it is made by passing
through some stages of instability — and that it
may take a very long time. Above all, trust in the
slow work of God, our loving vine-dresser.

- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

--

Our vocation is to belong to Jesus so completely
that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
What you and I must do is nothing less than putting
our love for Christ into practice. The important thing
is not how much we accomplish, but how much love
we put into our deeds every day. That is the measure
of our love for God.

- Mother Teresa

--

The most eloquent prayer is the prayer through
hands that heal and bless.